POLS 125 Chapter Notes - Chapter NA: Roberts Court, Equal Protection Clause
29 Oct 2020
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Document Summary
Power of us courts to engage in judicial review is firmly established: yet commentators and participants in the political process often are uneasy about judicial review. Especially when scotus strikes down legislation adopted by elected officials. Much work done on the striking down of legislation is framed in terms of counter- majoritarian difficulty: that is, when policies established by democratically elected officials are overturned by unelected judges. Justifications for judicial review can be put into two categories: (1) refuting the claim that it is counter-majoritarian (2) demonstrating that judicial review serves a desirable role in the political system. There have also been presidential elections that have shaped the court"s membership powerfully that were decided by close margins (1) these can hardly be claimed to reflect the overwhelming sentiment of the public. The factors that influence their policy preferences are very different from those of the general public.
